NATCHITOCHES—As talented as Jessica Spitzer is on the soccer field, she might be even better in the classroom.

Spitzer was named the Southland Conference Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year, leading five on the All-Academic Team.

Joining Spitzer on the team are Emily Senatore, Paige Baumgartner, Riley Stern and Kennedy Rist.

A senior from Allen, Texas, Spitzer won the SLC Defender of the Year on the field. is the second NSU player to ever win the SLC Defensive Player of the Year. She is the second Demon to ever win the award, joining former teammate Nicole Henry, who won it three times.

Spitzer helped lead a defense that posted 11 shutouts, the most since 2021, helping lead the Demons to the regular season conference championship.

She did that, all well posting a perfect 4.0 GPA in the classroom, while double majoring in biology with a concentration in biomedical and applied microbiology with a concentration in medical and health profession and minoring in chemistry.

It is the third consecutive season she is on the All-Academic Team.

Senatore, the SLC Player of the Year, was first team all-conference for each of the past two seasons and was ranked the No. 69 player in the country by Top Drawer Soccer.

The native of Oxford, Conn., finished second in the league in points (25) and her six game-winning goals were tied for eighth in the league.

Senatore sported a 3.267 GPA while majoring in health and exercise science with a concentration of pre-physical therapy.

Baumgartner, a redshirt junior from Rowlett, Texas, was a first team selection at forward who scored eight goals and recorded a total of 18 points. In league play, she finished second in the conference in both goals (5) and points (11). Overall, her eight total goals finished third and 18 total points ranked fourth.

While dominating on the field, she also performed in the classroom, posting a 3.73 GPA, majoring in business administration.

Stern, a redshirt junior from Fort Worth, also finished with a first team all-conference selection. Her nine assists led the SLC and were the second-most in a single season in program history, as well as tied for 29^th nationally. Of those nine assists, three came against Mississippi Valley State, which was one shy of the school record for a single game.

Stern's 19 points were ranked third in the Southland and her nine points in SLC play were tied for third.

She finished the regular season with a flurry, posting her first career multi-goal game against Nicholls that clinched the outright regular season title.

In the classroom, Stern posted a 3.966 GPA, majoring in health and exercise science.

Kennedy Rist, a native of Palm Harbor, Fla., also earned a spot on the all-academic team after earning a second team all-conference selection.

The redshirt junior was a four-time SLC Goalkeeper of the Week and 0.71 goals against average was tops in the Southland and 34th nationally, as well as the second-best mark in NSU history.

Rist's nine solo shutouts were second in the SLC and tied for 24th in the country, as well as tied for second in program history. Her .840 save percentage was second in the SLC and tied for 28th in the NCAA and her 12 goalkeeper wins are tied for second in a single season in program history

She started off the season in a huge way, as she stopped a career-high 13 shots in the season-opening upset of No. 19 Texas, making multiple huge saves in crunch moments.

In the classroom, she sported a 3.861 GPA in the difficult major of biology.
 
STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:  Jessica Spitzer, Northwestern State, Sr., 4.00 GPA, Biology and Microbiology
 
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
EAST TEXAS A&M
Kristen Sueltz, Sr., 3.75, Public Health
Trinity Egerton, Gr. 4.00, Marketing and Marketing Analytics
Payton Joost, Gr. 3.83, Marketing and Marketing Analytics
Kelsey Lefever, Fr. 4.0, Industrial Engineering
Malaya Ring, So., 3.55, Business Administration
 
HCU
Olivia Rossman, Jr. 3.93, Business Administration
Danika Etter, Sr., 3.83, Business Adminstration
Brynn Dunbar, Sr., 3.92, Kinesiology
Zylee Dominguez, So., 3.95, Graphic Design
Alexia Murillo, Sr., 3.77, Kinesiology
 
UIW
Melissa Bailey, Sr., 3.74, Kinesiology
Taylor Kish, Jr., 3.83, General Business
Alex Knutson, Jr., 3.68, Finance
Atiana Lara, Fr., 3.80, Biology
Kiana Villa, Jr., 3.80 Kinesiology
 
LAMAR
Sydney Williams, So., 3.83, Univ. Studies - Health Sciences
Cena Carlson, So., 4.00, Biology
Marissa Gross, Jr. 3.83, Univ. Studies
Annika Kassenbrock, Sr., 3.47, Exercise Science
Katherine Williams, Sr., 3.66, Nursing
 
McNEESE
Rhiannon Maynes-Tourond, Fr., 4.00, Kinesiology
Rebecca Romero, Jr., 3.60, Biology
 
NICHOLLS 
Kaylie Harris, So., 3.35, Nursing
Lillie Mazur, Sr., 3.86, Health Science
Avery Mondoux, Sr., 3.82, Interdisciplinary Studies
Myles Riggle, So., 4.00, Chemistry
Sara Sigurdsson, Sr., 3.89, Biology
 
NORTHWESTERN STATE 
*Jessica Spitzer, Sr., 4.00, Biology and Microbiology
Emily Senatore, Jr., 3.27, Health and Exercise Science
Paige Baumgartner, R Jr., 3.73, Business Administration
Riley Stern, R Jr., 3.97, Health and Exercise Science
Kennedy Rist, R Jr., 3.86, Biology
 
SOUTHEASTERN 
Kendall Curran, Jr., 3.83, Kinesiology
Alex Knight, Fr., 4.00, Nursing
Aja Nelson, Fr., 4.00, Nursing
Emma Ramsey, Sr., 3.74, Health Sciences
Rylee Franklin, Sr., 3.50, Communication Sciences and Disorders
 
SFA
Brielle Buchanan, Jr., 4.00, Marketing
Sierra McCluer, So., 3.80, Biology
Bryn Geppert, So., 3.60, Kinesiology
Sawyer Kohutek, So., 3.51, Biology
Avery Brandt, Sr., 3.64, Nursing
 
TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI
Mai-Lisa Atis, Sr., 3.79, Computer Science
Myjoi Anderson, Fr., 3.73, Kinesiology
Emmie Barton, Jr., 3.71, Civil Engineering
Dakota Merino, So., 3.60, Psychology
Morgan Westbury, Sr., 3.38, Kinesiology
 
UTRGV 
Linnea Eld, Jr., 3.92, Marketing
Savannah Frisby, Gr., 3.75, Marketing
Lisa Elowsson, So., 3.78, Kinesiology
Libbie Mayfield, Sr. 3.68, Biology
Abbie Bailey, Gr., 3.61, Communication Studies